Gingerbread Houses

We had a great time today decorating our gingerbread houses in our pajamas and then watching Toy Story 2 on blankets.
I hope you enjoy the photos.
Have a great break and happy new year!!

Gingerbread House Building, Decorating, and Pajama Day!

Tomorrow (Tuesday) we will begin the construction of our gingerbread houses. They will then be decorated on Wednesday. We decided to add to the fun by making Wednesday a pajama day :) Please make sure your child wears sneakers/boots to school and they can change into slippers if they want to. We do have gym on Wednesday so please keep that in mind when choosing your child's jammies....they will need their sneakers for gym.
There is a full day on Thursday and the gingerbread houses will be coming home then so they have time to dry and harden a bit.
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to call or email me. I hope you have a great holiday and a happy start to the new year!

Book Talk

I just visited this website: ReadKiddoRead
It's a great website from the great author, James Patterson. It's for kids, parents, and educators. Be sure to check it out.

Also, here is a link to vote for some of you favorite 2010 kids' books: TheKiddoAwards

Enjoy and happy reading :)

Turkey Trot

On Wednesday Ms. Bannon held the annual Turkey Trot. On this day, the 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders have to run 1/4 mile, 1/2 mile. and 1 mile (respectfully) and record their finished time. Grades k-2 get to participate as they want and/or can cheer on the other students. I told my students they had to run or walk around 1 time for some exercise and then the can choose to continue or sit out. Many of the children ran and/or walked close to that mile! They were determined to do much more than expected of them :)
Here are some pictures of many of the first graders and a few of the teachers who participated in the Turkey Trot of 2010.
Enjoy :)

House Projects

I hope everyone had a very nice Thanksgiving! I know I enjoyed the time I got to relax and spend with loved ones.
The students' house projects came out great! They all presented their projects and felt proud of their hard work! I will keep the projects on display in the classroom until Friday. If you would like to pick up your child's project, please let me know.
Here are some pictures of everyone's 3-D home models.
Enjoy :)

Readers' Workshop

I know, I know....I have had a lot to say tonight. I promise this is my final post of the evening. I just had to share some pictures of the amazing learning and reading that is happening during our Readers' Workshop time. Enjoy :)

House Project

Here is the notice that went home today about your child's first project.

House Project Directions

Your child’s first project is to build a 3 dimensional model of his/her home with as many details as possible. They will then write a few sentences describing why the house is built and set up that way. Completed projects are due on Tuesday, November 23^rd. Your child will be presenting their project on Wednesday, November 24^th. Please have your child practice reading their report at home to ensure their confidence when they are presenting it to their classmates.

Please use a poster board or cardboard to build on. You can use construction paper, popsicle sticks, shoeboxes, backyard materials, whatever your imagination can dream up. We encourage using materials found around the house rather than store bought. The Native Americans made their homes using materials found in their backyards so we are trying to encourage the children to do the same. Please fill out the

“My Home” activity sheet and return the project to school by Tuesday, November 23rd. After your child presents their project to the class, all the projects will be on display for the whole school to see!!!!

Attached is a rubric so you can see what the expectations are for this project. We will also be posting picture on the first grade blogs.

Have fun and as always thank you for your support!

The First Grade Team

Here are a couple of examples we made and showed the students: